A fuel cell and a battery mounted in a hybrid fuel cell vehicle is known as a conventional fuel cell power plant for a mobile unit by JP-A 2000-315511. A drive motor for running the fuel cell vehicle drives the vehicle when supplied with electrical power from a battery or electrical power generated by the fuel cell.
At vehicle startup, when the driver switching the ignition switch to the ON position, the fuel cell is activated in order to allow vehicle operation. However at startup, the fuel cell is not able to commence power generation immediately. Consequently the vehicle supplies power to the drive motor from the battery. Thereafter, when power generation by the fuel cell is enabled, power is supplied from the fuel cell.